


Stop That Train

by KirkyPet



Series: The Shipping Forecast [8]
Category: Mad Max Series (Movies), Mad Max: Fury Road
Genre: Ace is alive, Gen, Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 04:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10983159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirkyPet/pseuds/KirkyPet
Summary: Ace trying to get his head around what the fuck just happened.(This is not in chronological order with the rest of the series, but we can't forget Ace, so here's his Fury Road POV)





	Stop That Train

He doesn't know how, but the wheels of the pursuit vehicle spectacularly fail to crush the life out of him. It's like he's spent his half-life practicing how not to die, and now he's an expert. But it's not over yet, he's on the edge of a sandstorm that'll shred him one tiny piece at a time. He tears a strip of his black trousers and wraps it round his nose and mouth as best he can to save himself from the choking, abrasive air. Taking advantage of the last light, he spots a decent-sized rock nearby and crouches leeward of the storm. He waits...eyes tightly shut and his hands over his ears to block the deafening screams. _Is that the wind, or the voices of those flying bodily to Valhalla?_

While the storm lasted, the howling hell that flew around him occupied the whole of his attention. But as it abated, conscious thoughts began to demand his notice.  _Punched in the face and thrown to his death by his brother-in-arms?_ What's more, his Boss? A War Party on their tail? And he's pretty fucking sure it's not a training run. What has she done? Why'd she do it? And why the fuck didn't she keep him in the loop? He doesn't know what side he should be on. It's only in the last few moments that he's realised there is _more than one side._ He needs time to think... 

Ace huddled with his back to the rock, to find shade and stay out of sight. He was Furiosa's second. If they were chasing her, they were chasing him too. What had happened to Caleb? Ace needed to find him. But first, rest a little. His head was ringing, his mouth bleeding from the blow. _Her blow_. The one that had sent him flying. 

No point passing out under the blazing sun for Buzzards to scavenge. Bastards. If it wasn't for them...she might have been about to tell him what was up. But she knocked him off the Rig. Not the actions of someone who was about to brief their right-hand man any time soon. He was angry, hurt to the quick, but part of him trusted her still. He'd never known her to hurt anyone without a bloody good reason.  

She'd deserted...with the Rig. He couldn't even begin to imagine a reason good enough for that enormity. Joe would tear her to pieces for this...he _will_ if can catch her up. Speed is the key. So no time for explanations? Ace's reasoning was going round and round in circles, making himself dizzy. 

As the War Party screamed past, Ace kept his head down. Joining them was unthinkable. Finally, silence.  

What now? Go back? He'd tried to get up, but his head swam and he dropped back down again. They were all on a mad chase to the East and he was left behind in the dust. He could have helped...he should be there. But the question kept screaming at him, through the confusing fog of suspicion and anger – _helped_ _who_ _?_ He, her loyal second, had grabbed her by the throat. "What have you done?" he'd yelled, just before she'd smashed him in the face. What would he have done if he was still on the Rig? Would he still be her second? Or would he be fighting to take the Rig back to his Immortan? Fighting her...? He made a third attempt to get to his feet... 

Ace passed out. Next thing he knew, hands were shaking him back to consciousness. A panicked voice. "Ace, Ace. What the fuck's happening? They've all gone. All of 'em, every fucking one. Never seen anythin' like it." 

It's Caleb. He's alright. 

* 

They made it to high ground and watched the War Party return, the Doof Warrior playing a dirge. Who was dead? Ace felt sick. But if they were after Furiosa's blood, it would be a triumphant yell if she had fallen. Must've been someone else, someone Joe would mourn. Rictus, maybe? No, there he was. Not hard to spot, even from a distance. What were they doing? Looked like they were making camp. So Ace and Caleb did the same. No food or water, but they were still alive. That counted as success in Ace's book.

*

They woke to the sound of 'War Rig!' followed by the grinding chords of the Doof. They were moving out? Yes, that was the Rig in the distance! It was heading back they way they'd come! What the hell were they planning? Were they trying to beat the War Party to it? This was fuckin' messed up...

And as the War Party sped off in a cloud of dust, all Ace and Caleb could do was follow. Slow, on foot, in the desert. Short of finding a functional ride and driving back, it was Shanks Pony for them. Fuck, _this_ was how they were going to die after all...

*

They walked. After a night and a day, they found Taggy, Dek and a few others. Taggy had landed soft when the Buzzards JCB blew, and Dek had been thrown off when Elvis got flipped by that Buzzard trap. They'd followed the Rig after they'd been thrown, and had both made it as far as the canyon. It was good to see them. But there were others, those from the War Party. The canyon had been blocked by...was that the War Rig? Ace felt a chill. He hunted in the wreckage for her but, they could find nobody. There was a War Boy, dead, close to the wreckage. They witnessed him, buried him under stone. He looked familiar to Ace. Just before he'd been knocked from the Rig, had he been there? That didn't make much sense, but nothing did anymore

Ace and the small party of War Boys made the long walk back to the Citadel. They'd found some water lying by. Strange, maybe dropped by the War Party as it passed? He wonders what had happened to the others. He thought they'd have trouble with the bunch of die-hards who wanted to shred Furiosa for what she'd done. But they must have decided to go to Gas Town instead. He wonders who it was who'd grabbed him in the night. It'd been good to hear Furiosa had made it back, safe. The Immortan was dead, so she wouldn't get shredded. That was the main thing. But, fuck, he was still going to have words...

He was apprehensive but strangely hopeful. How would she receive him? She'd obviously decided she couldn't trust him. She had allied herself with the Wives, these otherworldly creatures. How could she still be the same person? But despite his trepidation, his alienation, he still had to go back. The Citadel was home, no matter how changed he would find it. There was nowhere else. Okay, that wasn't true. There was Gas Town and the Bullet Farm. But that would be declare his allegiance elsewhere. He was a Citadel Boy in the blood, always had been. And, despite everything, it still lay with her. Besides, she had been his friend, his little brother once.  

It was a silent walk back, at least for Ace. Caleb, who couldn't keep quiet for two seconds, had gone to  join the others, and they chattered away, speculating on how things would turn out... 

* 

They had told him, the Boys from the Immortan's War Party, that the Wives had been taken. That Furiosa had stolen them. 

That was unexpected. It...changed things. He needed to re-evaluate everything. Think back, try to view his memories through the lens of this new information. 

She was always paranoid, afraid, hiding. She hid that she was female for as long as she could. But then refused to go under the Organic's knife to rectify the problem. That was what other female War Pups did. She would go nowhere near the Organic. Would do anything to avoid the Blood Shed. And then this rumour that she'd been a Wife. He'd never believed that...she'd been too young anyway, that first day when she'd broken his jaw in the Pits. But then she was tall...it was only apparent that she was still a Pup when you saw her close up. But she didn't look like Wife material. Granted, the trappings of a War Pup were just about polar opposite to what he imagined a Wife would look like, even one in training.

She would kill anyone who touched her without permission...in that way anyway...and she never granted permission, as far as he could see. 

When she got promoted and took the name 'Furiosa', he became 'she', proper. Ace had always stumbled over the female pronoun before that, but it was alright to use it now. But she was still _tense_ , always looking over her shoulder. It was only after she came back from the Vault that first time...the much-derided Wife-guarding duty...that she didn't seem afraid anymore. Ace didn't understand any of this... 

Had she taken the Wives against their will? No, the returning crew had specifically said the Splendid One had used her own body to shield her. They had spat as they said this, and declared all females would traitor, given the chance.  

So they had _wanted to leave_. And she helped them to. She had to be leaving too...she could hardly come back after a stunt like that. 

 _They were escaping..._  

Some said she'd been rejected from the Vault – her missing arm had labelled as her tainted. He would understand if she was angry, bitter...but not the _fear._  

A treacherous voice had kept whispering to him... _maybe she hadn't wanted to be the_ _Immortan's_ _Wife?_  

Now it looked like that this seditious thought was on the money after all. 

***** 

Ace and the others were met by a gaggle of Pups, seemingly led by a dignified-looking desert woman and a walking bundle of aggression in the form of a diminutive Wife in white gauze. They were both packing weapons with practiced ease, though the younger one's cool stance was partly a front, Ace could see.  The older one, now...she looked like she could take down ten War Boys in the blink of an eye. 

"Declare your allegiance!" the younger one demanded, nostrils flaring.  

"We're here to serve Furiosa" Ace sighed wearily, hands in the air, then muttered under his breath, "Do we look like an invasion force...?"  

"Right enough" the older one nods, noting their injuries and general downtrodden-ness. "Give them water, food" she gestured to the Pups towards the direction of the Citadel. The younger one demurred, clearly not liking the look of them. _We need allies_ is all the reply she receives. 

* 

"Where is she?" Ace keeps asking. No answer. He's afraid now. "I thought she was in charge" he persisted.  

"She is" the Wife snaps. "She's just resting." 

Resting? That was a first. _Time enough to rest when you're dead,_ she'd always said. 

She'd led him to the refectory, handed him food and water. Just a mouthful of water, that's all he needed. "Take me to her" he demanded. 

"Why should I? Who are _you_ , anyway?"  

"Ace. Her second. On the Rig. Take me to her. If she isn't dead already." 

Other women had gathered by now. They looked at each other uncertainly. 

"I'll go" another Wife offers. It's a skinny one this time, with white hair. Looks like you could knock her down with a sneeze. "See if she's awake anyway. If she can see visitors." 

* 

Ace waited, uncomfortably, feeling the hostility around him. Was this a mistake? No. He had to see if she was alive, to see who she was now. Then he'd decide. He could hear them whispering. 

He ate a little more while he was waiting, though he felt he'd as like to choke on it. By the time the skinny Wife came back, he was practically climbing the walls. He jumped to his feet as she approached, his anxiety showing in his face, because she explained half-defensively, half-apologetically, "She was asleep. I wasn't going to wake her." _Relief_. "You can come up now." 

* 

The Vault. He'd never been inside before, apart from six days ago, when he'd supervised the removal of the Statue to the loading bay. 

Then it dawned on him. He'd carried the _Wives_ out of the Vault. They were in that fucking statue. He'd thought it was bloody heavy. He should be livid, being used like that. If he'd been a disinterested observer, he'd have just grinned at the brass neck of the thing. But he wasn't. She'd fucked him over, used him. Used them all. He had to remember that, stay mad. It was the resentment that had kept him going these past few days, he told himself. 

These were his thoughts as he limped into the Vault. And they disappeared like dust in the wind when his eyes lit on the narrow bed. It wasn't the injuries, and they were bad enough. Ribs strapped, eye swollen and blind, left shoulder torn and bruised by V8 knew what.  

It was the look of relief at the sight of him...in fever-bright eyes that couldn't seem to meet his. Then she seemed to pull herself together and tried to sit up. Clearly a mistake, judging from the way she blanched in response to the pain. The skinny Wife and another older woman with braided hair supported her and propped her up with a pillow. She looked her thanks to both of them and asked, "Can you leave us alone?" 

"What? No...Furiosa..." the Wife objected, but Furiosa interrupted her. "He won't hurt me. It's safe. Really." 

The two women departed, reluctantly. A moment's silence. He had to break it, it was too painful. "You seem very sure about that" he grunted, drily. Then he wished he hadn't. She replied, faintly. " _I'm not_...if you want to kill me, go ahead. I owe you that, at least." Then she looked him in the face. "I'm glad you...made it home okay." 

He was glad she didn't say _I_ _'m sorry_.  

* 

"You took the Wives, and you took the Rig. And you didn't trust me." 

"If I had...what would you have done?" It wasn't a rhetorical question. He could see she didn't know. She _assumed_ he would have stopped her, that much was obvious from her actions, but she didn't _know_. Neither did he. Ace sighed and slumped down by the wall. He couldn't stand upright under the weight of that question. Besides, he preferred to be on her level. 

"I always wondered what was going on with you. You were always so ...careful...all the time." He looked up at her intently. " _Were_ you...? no...you were just a Pup." He shook his head incredulously and looked around the grandly furnished room. 

"A Wife? Nearly. But for this." She waved her stump wearily. "And a lot of help. Ace...I wanted to tell you. I nearly told you, back then..." She beat her good fist weakly against the covers. "Too risky." Furiosa shrugged, wearily. _Same story then,_ _same_ _story six days ago._  

* 

Furiosa untwined the black scarf from her throat. "Take this...it's yours now." 

"What...? You _have_ lost your mind. You don't want to be Imperator now, either?" 

"Imperators don't sell out their crew." 

"Maybe they _shouldn't_ , but we've known plenty that did. Not quite like _this_ , but..." He realigned his thoughts "But what they _don't_ do, is apologise for it afterwards." 

"It should've been you anyway..." 

"I'm not taking it. As if you'd take orders from me, anyway." 

"I would..." The tears were flowing fast now, as Ace adjusted himself to let her rest her head on his shoulder. 

"It's alright..." He soothed. She shook her head wearily. "Caleb's here too, and Dek...and those soupy young'uns you got too pissed to ride out. Yeah, I know what you were up to" he added, as she lifted her head.  "So tell me...I've figured out most of it by now. Had coupla days in the desert to think it out. But who was the smeg with the voice like a boot full of gravel? Told me you were in charge now. Had a knife to my throat at the time, but no hard feelings. Where'd you pick him up?" 

"Fool? Where'd you see him?" Furiosa sat upright in surprise and slumped back down again. It was an indulgence she couldn't afford right then. 

"That his name? Out by the Rig. In the canyon. I wonder if he knows anything about Axle and his lot. Seemed bloody convenient it was only your mates that came back..." Ace mused. 

"So he went back East? Wonder why..." She was a healthier colour now, Ace noticed. That'd perked her up. So he continued that line of conversation.  

"Not the chatty type, I reckon...?" he probed. "But no Fool, I'd say." 

"His name's Max" Furiosa looked up, looked him in the face. " _He gave me his blood."_ Which indeed seemed to be rising at the sound of his name. 

"Wait...not that poor bastard of a bloodbag? Phew...it's a wonder he had any left in him." 

As her brow furrowed anxiously, he added hurriedly. "But he was fighting fit when I ran into him. No problem with his night vision. Or his knife arm either..." Ace shivered a little. The feral should be dead, by the sound of it, not running around in the dark picking off Furiosa's enemies. "Hmph. Glad he's on our side" he grumbled. And there you go. _Their side_. As if there had been any doubt. 

Furiosa butted her head against his ear affectionately. "Our side" she echoed, with a suppressed sob and sniff. 

"Ah...dry yer eyes...goin' soft..." Ace huffed. 

She smiled against his shoulder and squeezed his hand. 

"And quit your yapping. I need some shut-eye...all the shit you've put me through..." He grumbled as  he carefully manoeuvred her into a comfortable recumbent position and settled down on his side next to her. She was already asleep by the time he nodded off, her hand gripping his. 

* 

He awoke to find the gun-toting woman from the sentry patrol sitting by the door, knitting.  

"Wondered when you'd wake up. Guess you've had a rough coupla days too?" 

He sat up carefully, which was difficult since Furiosa still grasped his right hand tightly in her sleep. Failing to find a tenable sitting position, Ace gave up and lay down again. _Oh well,_ _there_ _goes dignity._ "You could say that. Mainly puzzling things out." 

"That and the exposure and no food or water..." The woman raised an eyebrow. "Name's Althea. And you're Ace, right?" He nodded. "Her right hand man?" He nodded, with a sigh. He couldn't summon the energy to correct her with the tired old joke, _Left hand man._   

"She's glad to see you well..." 

"Will she be alright?" He asked. "She's pretty bashed up." 

"Think she's proud of those battle scars" Althea nodded, "But she'd be worm food but for the boy. Glad he's fighting fit, as you say. Was kind of worried. So was she." Althea nodded to the sleeping figure. "Thanks for the intel. It's done her good." 

"Hmph" Ace grunted. It was his happy sound. But..."Hang on...were you in here the whole time?" 

She shrugged. "Just checking you weren't planning to do our girl any harm." Seeing the look on his face, she raised her hands appealingly. "Come on, would you have done any different?"  

Seeing him relent, she continued. "Any sign of the young 'un? One of yours...all white." Ace looked blank. "He was the one who tipped the Rig, took out the Big Boy."  

Ace shook his head. "Who was it? What was his name?" 

"Nux." 

"Ah." Ace wished he had his hand free, but satisfied himself with a whispered _Witness_. 

"Guess he's done for. Shame. For the little ranga's sake, most of all." 

"Who?" 

"Hm..." Althea let out an amused chuckle and waved a needle at Ace's head. "Forgot you fellas don't have much truck with hair. Capable. Red hair. Goggles." 

"One of the Wives?" Ace gaped at her. 

"Not any more. Merry Widows, maybe. Don't know what they're calling themselves now." 

Just then, Furiosa shifted in her sleep, murmured something they didn't quite catch and loosened her grip on Ace's hand. Althea smiled. "Ready for some breakfast? I think you and me should compare notes." 

**Author's Note:**

> "Stop that train, I want to get on, My baby, she is leaving me now...She said, 'My dear I do love you, no matter what they say or do'"
> 
> https://youtu.be/JnQTGNcNpI4  
> Courtesy of Keith and Tex
> 
> Of course Ace isn't dead. Who kills off Ace? Okay, some people have, but not many. Despite the misleading 'baby', we're strictly platonic here.
> 
> Just re-reading my own stuff. Might have fucked up a bit. Max 'buried the kid'. Ace found a War Boy, witnessed him, buried him under stone. Right...I can't decide who gets to bury Nux, so I'll just point out my own error and leave it at that.


End file.
